Introduction
Do you want to know about Clubfoot? If yes, then search no more because this is an article that will explain all the important information that you need to know about Clubfoot. This article will cover all the important information about Clubfoot from symptoms, causes, prevention to treatment of Clubfoot.
Clubfoot is one of the oldest diseases or infections that affect children immediately after birth. It is one of the most popular congenital birth defects. According to NIH, the National Institutes of Health, Clubfoot affects one in every 1,000 babies that are born in the United States. Likewise, it affects boys more than the girl child. That is why it is said that the boy child have a higher risk of Clubfoot than female children.
What is Clubfoot?
Clubfoot popular health condition that affects a newly born baby’s foot which makes the foot to look rotate internally at the ankle. In most cases of Clubfoot, the foot may point downward or upward, and both feet will face each other.
Clubfoot is also known as talipes equinovarus (TEV), which is an abnormal foot that points downward, and inward. This condition occurs immediately when a child is born, and it affects the foot and the lower leg. In some cases, Clubfoot affects both feet or one.
According to NIH, the National Institutes of Health, Clubfoot affects male children twice as often as it does a female child.
Clubfoot can affect a child even if his or her parents or family member doesn’t have a history of Clubfoot. Currently, the chance of having a child with Clubfoot is randomly occurrence which happens to one in 1,000 children in the United States as at this moment of writing this article.
There are 3% chances of having a child with a clubfoot if you already gave birth to one with Clubfoot. Likewise, parents who have Clubfoot have 20 to 30% chances of having a child with Clubfoot.
With proper medical attention and treatment, a child that is born with Clubfoot can have proper and balance feet within five to six years in some cases, it may be longer than that, even though the symptoms of Clubfoot begin to show between the age of one week to two weeks old.
Causes of Clubfoot
Currently, there are no verified and approved causes of Clubfoot. After so much research, there is no evidence or causes of Clubfoot.
But several researchers suggest that it is a genetic link disease, which means it runs through family history. If any of your family members are living with Clubfoot or any of them have Clubfoot as a child, then you are at higher risk of giving birth to a child with Clubfoot.
You have high tendencies of giving birth to a child with Clubfoot if you already gave birth to one with Clubfoot. If this is the case, the next child has a higher risk of having the illness.
According to record, Clubfoot affects children whose mothers smoke or take hard drugs during pregnancy, but the major causes of Clubfoot are family history.
Aside from that, there could be a link between low amniotic fluid and Clubfoot. The amniotic fluid is the liquid substance that surrounds a baby in the womb.
If you are married to anyone with a family history of Clubfoot, then you need to go for a regular genetic test during pregnancy so that you may know if you are carrying a baby with Clubfoot. In case you are carrying a child with Clubfoot, quick, effective, and fast medical treatment will be carried out, which may reduce the symptoms and effect of Clubfoot in the child, even before you give birth.
Intrinsic
Intrinsic is one of the most common causes of Clubfoot, it is more severe or rigid, and it occurs when the calf muscle is smaller, so the foot may be smaller as well, and it may lead to bone deformity of the talus.
Risk Factors of Clubfoot
There are several factors of Clubfoot, but in this article, I will mention the major risk factor only.
Family History
Family history is the major risk factor of Clubfoot. If any of the parents or family members have had Clubfoot as a child, then the possibility of birthing a child with Clubfoot is very high.
Congenital Conditions
In several cases of Clubfoot is associated with several abnormal bones which occur immediately after birth. This congenital includes spina bifida, which occurs when the spin or the spinal cord doesn’t develop or close properly.
Environment
The environment can also increase your chances of giving birth to a child with Clubfoot, especially when you are pregnant. Pregnant women who smoke during pregnancy have a higher risk of giving birth to a child with Clubfoot.
Insufficient Amniotic Fluid During Pregnancy
Insufficient amniotic fluid during pregnancy can also increase the chances of giving birth to a child with Clubfoot. This is why it is literally important to go for regular medical check-ups when you are pregnant so that medical tests can show the level of your animatic fluid during pregnancy. If it is not enough then, your doctor will recommend an effective supplement that will increase it within a short period.
Symptoms of Clubfoot
Immediately after the birth, the symptoms of Clubfoot are noticed. Your doctor may suspect the symptoms of Clubfoot in your child through his or her appearance.
A child that is living with Clubfoot have symptoms
The foot may be twisted downward or upward.
The affected foot may be a lot shorter than the other
The calf muscle may be underdeveloped
The affected foot may look upside down
If Clubfoot is not properly taken care of, then the child may be working with his or her ankles.
How to Diagnosis Clubfoot
Clubfoot can be diagnosed during pregnancy through prenatal ultrasound. Even though the severity cannot be determined until the baby is born and there is no treatment for Clubfoot when the baby is still in the womb, medical treatment can’t commence until the baby is born.
Treatment of Clubfoot
There are several treatments for Clubfoot over the years but, after several advancements, there are new treatments for Clubfoot which are effective and work faster than before.
The current treatment of Clubfoot casting, bracing, and surgery, likewise the combination of casting, breathing, and surgery, can be used to treat Clubfoot so that the treatment process will be faster and effective.
Surgery
Surgery is the most used and fastest method of treating Clubfoot, although this method is expensive and most parents consider another method first. If the other method does not work, then they don’t have a choice than to go for surgery.
There will be several surgeries that will help to adjust the bone, especially the adjustment of tendons, ligaments, joints, and order affected area in the foot and ankle.
The French Method
The French method is also one of the popular methods of treating Clubfoot. This method requires daily stretching, exercise, massage, and mobilization of the foot with several tools, including non-elastic tape.
The French method is also known as casting because the bone needed to be cast to the right position, the French method or casting method of treating Clubfoot requires weekly treatment at the Orthopedic Center to change the foot location and the treatment may last for few months depends on the symptoms.
The sole aim of doing this is to change the location of the foot slowly to the right position. For the first three months of the French method, the major duty is performed by physical therapy to improve and move the ball to the right position.
The Ponseti Method or Brazing
This is also a common method of treating Clubfoot, this process requires specialist manipulation of the baby’s born with his or her hand so that it will help to blend the foot, and plaster cast will be applied from the tight to the toes so that the feet can be in the right position.
This method is effective and popular because newly born babies born are mostly cartilage, which makes it is easy and simple to bend or manipulate to the right position.
How Can Clubfoot Be Prevented
Currently, there is no prevention for Clubfoot, but regular medical check-ups will help to reduce the effect and symptoms of a child with Clubfoot in the womb even before the baby is born.
In Conclusion
I’m very sure you now know all the important information about Clubfoot. If your partner has a family history of Clubfoot, then you need to go for the proper medical test during pregnancy so that you can start quick medication immediately if doctors discover that you are carrying a baby with Clubfoot.
Currently, there is no prevent for Clubfoot, which is why it is very important to go for a regular medical check-up during pregnancy so that you won’t give birth to a child with Clubfoot.
